By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — Local university leaders in charge of Upward Bound programs found out what they were getting from the federal government this week.
The news was especially good for Tiffany Slinkard, director of the Upward Bound programs at Crowder College. She received news that she was getting a $62,000 increase from the federal government.
The increase is a pleasant turnaround, since Upward Bound was on a list of possible cuts at the federal level, she said.
“I’m thankful that we’re not only funded, but getting an increase,” Slinkard said. “This will allow us to do things we haven’t done before.”
Crowder has three Upward Bound programs, divided into regional areas across 10 counties. Each program is slated to receive $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Education. About 50 students are in each program.
One program’s budget was $220,000 last year; the other two had budgets of $234,000 each.
Missouri Southern State University has one program with about 60 students. It is slated to receive $267,412 — the same amount it got last year, director Kevin Walker said.
“We are getting level funding this year,” Walker said. “We have been using the same level of funding for the last four years.”
Upward Bound is the first of three federal education programs designated with the name “TRIO.” It is a Title IV program which was enabled by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.
Aimed at students whose parents did not complete college, it helps high-school students get admitted into, and helps them through, college.
Loura Etter, of Joplin, went through the program at Joplin High School. Now preparing for her senior year at MSSU, she credits the program with getting her interested in her college education.
“I think I would have struggled without it,” Etter said. “Especially with the financial aid. They sat down with us and helped us with all the paperwork.”
The program offers guidance to students throughout their high-school careers, making sure their grades stay on track and providing information about career fields.
Etter said the program also helps students make the transition into college. A summer program sends students to college classes over the summer, where they simulate college life for a few weeks.
“We basically took the classes we would take in our first year in college,” Etter said. “We stayed in the dorms and learned the material that was going to be taught.”
Slinkard said the funding increase for Crowder’s programs will help replace aging equipment, provide modest raises for teachers and administrators and provide students with extra off-campus learning opportunities.
Wilson said the program is worth every dollar it gets in funding.
“Upward Bound students are four times more likely to earn a college degree than similar students who didn’t participate,” Walker said. “This program isn’t as well known as others, but it is wonderful.”
Large impact
Combined with Upward Bound students at Missouri State University, the program serves 210 students in Southwest Missouri. Nationally, the program served 56,430 students in 2006.
